Listening to brand-new, edgy, contemporary albums is all well and good, but sometimes all you need is a big, dumb compilation. Today's weapon of choice is 'Now Yearbook 90s,' one of my favourites in the series.
For those unfamiliar, in addition to releasing 'Now That's What I Call Music…' compilation albums filled with all the trash that passes for music these days, the good people at Now HQ also release these Yearbook records. The Yearbooks are a kind of greatest hits for a specific year, including tracks that might have been spread over multiple' Now…' records (in this case, 'Now 17' and 'Now 18').
So, is this an exercise in altruism? An opportunity to gather the best from 1990 in one gloriously garish place for our convenience or a cynical cash-in? I think we all know the answer to that…ka-ching!!! Whatever. This is the soundtrack to leaving school, my first nights out on the ale, and meeting the love of my life, so it is worth every penny.
It features cool songs I still love today ('Step On' by Happy Mondays/'What Time Is Love?' by KLF/'Killer' by Adamski & Seal), songs that I love that were on heavy rotation on MTV Europe (one of the few channels we had on the newly launched Sky TV) ('Love Shack' by The B-52's/'Groove Is In The Heart' by Deee-Lite/'Birdhouse In Your Soul' by They Might Be Giants) and songs that I love that I was throwing shapes to in shady bars in Liverpool ('Dirty Cash' by Adventures of Stevie V/'Naked in the Rain' by Blue Pearl/'Fascinating Rhythm' by Bass-O-Matic).
There are also guilty pleasures ('Don't Worry' by Kim Appleby/'Steamy Windows' by Tina Turner'/'Could Have Told You So' by Halo James), forgotten (by me) gems ('Wicked Game' by Chris Isaak/'Happenin' All Over Again' by Lonnie Gordon/'Black Velvet' by Alannah Myles) and some of my all-time faves ('Being Boring' by Pet Shop Boys/'The King of Wishful Thinking' by Go West/'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' by Deacon Blue).
There are 44 tracks over three discs; most people will likely find something they like on this compilation. Be it upbeat pop ('(We Want) the Same Thing' by Belinda Carlisle), cool indie ('The Only One I Know' by The Charlatans) or sentimental soppiness ('Nothing Compares 2 U' by Sinead O'Connor), the full track listing is available online.
If any of the above piques your interest, the collection is available for about £30 on retina-blasting orange vinyl all over the place.
Tracks To Try: Any of them.